Landlord Dispute Tied To Ax Killing Prosecutor Says Tirade Was Prompted By Eviction

Gerald Barcella was angry over being evicted when he hit his 69-year-old landlord four times with an ax and killed him, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The dispute was the last of many Barcella had with William Smith, a renowned stained-glass artist. Smith died in April 1995 in his Harmony House apartment.

Prosecutors said Barcella hit Smith once in the chest and three times in the head with a Pulaski. The firefighters’ tool with a pick on one side and an ax blade on the other was found under a bed next to Smith’s body.

“The evidence will show the defendant then cracked a beer, took a seat and said, ‘I just killed that (expletive),”’ said Joel Hazel, deputy prosecutor.

Barcella is charged with first-degree murder in Smith’s death. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Barcella’s girlfriend, his drinking buddy and a former cellmate are expected to testify at the two-week trial that he confessed to the killing.

Public defender John Adams said police found no scientific evidence - such as blood on Barcella’s clothes or his fingerprints in Smith’s room - that connect him to the crime.

Instead, Ricki Bobo, Barcella’s girlfriend, Ken Thrift, who spent the night of the murder drinking with him, and a former cellmate will testify that Barcella admitted killing Smith with an ax. Bobo and Thrift both initially denied to police they knew anything about Smith’s murder, Adams said.

“You’re going to hear basically when they started changing their stories and what was going on in their lives at that time,” Adams said.

Defense attorneys will try to show Smith also argued regularly with another tenant who lived next door.

Barcella lived across the hall from Smith before his April 3, 1995 murder. The two argued the night before Smith was found dead because Barcella came home drunk, knocked down a potted plant in the hallway and played his television loud, Hazel said during his opening statement.

Smith told Barcella to turn the television down. When Barcella refused, Smith told him he had three days to move out.

A little while later, Thrift saw Barcella wiping Smith’s door knob off with a handkerchief, Hazel said.

Tuesday’s testimony centered on two pieces of paper police found inside Smith’s door. Prosecutors allege one was a note Barcella asked Bobo to write to deflect suspicion after Barcella killed Smith.

A videotape taken of the scene showed the papers just inside Smith’s front door. A trail of blood spotted the carpet leading up to Smith’s body.

Blood from a large gash in the back of his head and his other injuries spattered the walls, curtains and bed. The Pulaski, allegedly owned by Barcella, was found under a carpet remnant kept underneath Smith’s bed.

“The victim suffered several blows,” Capt. Carl Bergh said. “Some of them were caused while he was moving. The final ones were caused where he was found at rest.”

, DataTimes